wink 
chan, move aside, reel, nod, MHG. tcinken (pret. 
loanl-), nod, also totter, reel, wince, G. winken 
(pret. icinkte), nod, make a sign, = Sw. vinka, 
beckon, wink, = Dan. rinke, beckon; cf. loel. 
vaiika, wink, rove, = Sw. vanka = Dan. vanke, 
rove, stroll; akin to AS. toancol, wavering, E. 
waiikle, etc. : see Kankle, wench'^, wince^, winclfl, 
etc.] I. intrans. 1. To close and open the eye- 
lids quickly ; of the eyes, to be opened and shut 
quickly; blink; nictitate. 
Here is three studied, ere ye'll thrice irink. 
Skak., L. L. L., i. 2. 54. 
2. To shut the eyes; close the eyelids so as 
not to see. 
Unnethes wiste he how to loke or loynke. 
Chaucer, Troilus, i. 301. 
A sltilfuU Gunner, witli Ills left eye uinUng, 
Levels directly at an Oak hard by, 
Whereon a hundred groaning Culuers ci-y. 
Sylvetler, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 7. 
3. To be wilfully blind or ignorant; avoid 
notice or recognition, as of an annoying or 
troublesome fact ; ignore ; connive : often fol- 
lowed by at. 
If golde speake for her in the present tense, 
The offlcer deputed for th' offence 
Will winck at smale faultes & remit correction. 
TivKs' Whistle (E, E. T. S.), p. 46. 
You are forc'd to u%nk and seem contents 
Coiigreve, tr. of Juvenal's Eleventh Satire. 
We may surely uink at a few things for the sake of the 
public interest, if God Almighty does ; and if He didn't, I 
don't know what would have become of the country. 
George Eliot, Felix Holt, vii. 
4t. To close the eyes in sleep ; sleep. 
For wel I woot, although I wake or witike. 
Ye rekke not whether I flete or sinke. 
Chaucer, Complaint to Pity, 1. 109. 
Go to bedde bi tyrae, & wynke. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 60. 
5. To convey a hint, wish, insinuation, etc., by 
a quick shutting and opening usually of one 
eye. 
Waryn Wlsdome wynked vppon Mede, 
And seide, "Madame, I am gowre man, what so my mouth 
langleth. " Piers Plowman (B), iv. 164. 
Pacience perceyued what I thoujt, and wynked on me to 
be stille. Piers Plowman (B), xiii. 85. 
Wink at the footman to leave him without a plate. 
Swift. 
"Very well, sir," cried the squire, who immediately 
smoked him, and winked on the rest of the company, to 
prepare us for the sport. Goldsmith, Vicar, vii. 
I blush to say I've winked at him, and he has ivinjced at 
me I W. S. Gilbert, Gentle Alice Brown. 
6. To twinkle ; shine with quick, irregular 
gleams; flash; sparkle. 
Whether the Heav'ns incessant agitation. 
Into a Star transforming th' Exhalation, 
Kindle the same, like as a coal that winkt 
On a sticks end (and seemed quite extinct). 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 21. 
And every Lamp, and every Fire, 
Did at the dreadful Sight wink and expire. 
Cowley, Pindaric Odes, xiv. 13. 
O for a beaker full of the warm South, 
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene, 
With beaded bubbles uHnking at the brim. 
Keats, Ode to a Nightingale. 
Winking muscle, the sphincter or orbicular muscle of 
the eyelids, the action of which closes the eye ; the winker: 
technically called palpebralis and orbicularis palpebrarum. 
See cut under muscle^. 
II. trans. 1. To close and open quickly : as, 
to wink the eyelids or the eyes. 
Lady Clavering, giving the young gentleman a delighted 
tap with her fan, uinked her black eyes at him. 
Thackeray, Pendennis, xxt. 
2. To move, force, or remove by winking: as, 
to wink back one's tears. 
■winkl (wingk), n. [< ME. loink, sleep, = OHG. 
winch, sideward movement, nod, MHG. wine, 
witik, G. wink, nod; from the verb.] 1. A 
quick shutting and opening of the eyelids; 
especially, such a movement of one eye made 
as a signal; hence, a hint, insinuation, com- 
mand, etc., conveyed by or as by winking. 
Eternall Father, at whose urink 
The wrathfuU Ocean's swelling pride doth sink. 
Syltester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 5. 
But why wou'd you ne'er give a Friend a Wink then? 
Wycherley, Country Wife, v. 4. 
In an instant my coachman took the itnnk to pursue. 
Steele, Spectator, No. 464. 
2t. A nap; sleep. 
Thenne wakede I of my wink, me was wo with alle 
That I nedde [had not] sadloker i-slept. 
Piers Plowman (A), v. 3. 
3. The time required for winking once; a very 
short space of time ; a moment : referring usu- 
ally to sleep. 
We never 
Slept wink ashore all night, but made sail ever. 
Chapinan, Odyssey, xvi. 491. 
6942 
He 's harped them all asleep ; 
Except It was the king's daughter 
Who ae urink cou'dna get. 
The Water o' Wearie's Well (Child's Ballads, I. 198). 
In a wink the false love turns to hate. 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien. 
4. A twinkle; a sparkle; a flash. 
A wink from Hesper falling 
Fast in the wintry sky 
Comes through the even blue. 
Dear, like a word from you. 
W. E. Henley, Echoes, il. 
Forty winks, a short nap. [CoUoq.) 
Old Mr. Transome, . . . since his walk, had been hav- 
ing forty winks on the sofa in the library. 
George £(io(, Felix Holt, xliii. 
To tip one the -Hrink. See tipz. 
■wink'-* (wingk), «. [Short for wJwWt'l.] A peri- 
winkle. See periwinkle"^, and first quotation 
under wash, n., 13. [Prov. Eng.] 
The witik men, as these periwinkle sellers are called, 
generally live in the lowest parts, and many in lodging- 
houses. Mayhew, London Laboiu' and London Poor, I. 78. 
■wink-a-peep (wingk'a-pep), n. [As wink-and- 
peep.'] The scarlet pimpernel, or shepherd's 
weather-glass, AnagalUs arvensis: so named 
from its closing or winking in damp weather 
and opening or peeping in fair weather. By 
Bacon called wincopipe (which see). Britten 
and Holland. [Prov. Eng.] 
■winker (wing'kfer), M. [<mnfcl -(--e»'l.] l.One 
who winks. 
Nodders, winkers, and whisperers. Pope. 
2. One of the blinders of a horse ; a blinker. 
— 3. An eyelash; also, the eye. [Colloq.]-;-4. 
The nictitating or winking membrane of a bird's 
eye; the third eyelid. — 5. The winking muscle 
(which see, under wink'^, v.). — 6. In an organ, 
a small bellows, compressed by a spring, at- 
tached to the side of a wind-trunk so as to regu- 
late slight variations in the tension of the air 
within. Also called concussion-bellows. 
■winker-leather (wing'k6r-leTH"6r), n. In sad- 
dlery, a glazed piece of heavy leather which 
forrns the outside of a winker or blind. 
winker-muscle (wing'ker-mus'''l), n. Same as 
winker, 5. 
■winker-plate (wing'kfer-plat), n. In saddlery, 
a metallic plate which gives shape and strength 
to a winker or blinder. 
winker-strap (wing'kfer-strap), re. In saddlery, 
a strap which holds the winkers in position. 
It extends downward from the crown-piece of the bridle, 
and then branches off on either side, and is fastened to 
the winkers. See cut under harness. 
winking (wing'king), M. [< ME. ivynkkynge, 
wynkynge; verbal n. of wink'^, ».] The act of 
one who winks: often used in the colloquial 
phrase like winking — that is, very rapidly; very 
quickly ; with great vigor. 
Nod away at him, if you please, like winking ! 
Dickens, Great Expectations, xxv. 
■winkingly (wing'king-li), adv. With winking. 
If one beholdeth the light, he vieweth it winkingly, as 
those do that are purblind. Peacham, On Drawing. 
■winking-owl (wing'king-oul), ». An Austra- 
lian owl, Xinox connivens. 
■winkle^ (wing'kl), «. [< AS. *MJ!Hde, in comp. 
j>w(c-mncfaH, periwinkles; allied to wtwAl: see 
icink^ anA periwinkle'^.] Same as periwinkle"^. 
winkle^ (wing'kl), a. A dialectal variant of 
tcankle. Halliicell. 
■winkle-hawk (wing'kl-hak), n. [D. winkel- 
haak, a rent, tear.] An angular rent made in 
cloth, etc. Bartlett. Also winkle-hole. [New 
York.] 
■winkless(wingk'les),o. [< jcjhA'I -I- -/e««.] Un- 
winking. [Rare.] 
He advanced to that part of the area which was imme- 
diately below where I was standing, fixed on me a wide, 
dilated, winkless sort of stare, and halted. 
Proc. Soc. Psych. Research, III. 94. 
winlyt (win'li), a. [ME., also icynnelich, < AS. 
wynlic, joyous, < loyn, .ioy (see winne), + -lie, E. 
-ly^. Ct.'winsome.'] joyous; winsome; pleas- 
ant; gracious; goodly. 
Chefly thay asken 
Spycez, that vn-sparely men speded hom to bryng, 
A the wynnc-lych wyne ther-with. 
Sir Oawaiine and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 980. 
That wynnclych lorde that wonyes in heuen. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 1807. 
Winly (win'li), adv. [< ME. wynly, wynli ; < 
winly, fl.] It. Delightfully; pleasantly. 
That was a peiies place for ani prince of erthe, 
& wynli with heie wal was closed al a-boute. 
William of Paleme (E. E. T. S.), 1. 749. 
Thane I went to that wlonke. and wynly hire gretls. 
Jdorte Arthure (E. K T. S.), L 3339. 
2. Quietly. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
winnow 
winna (win'a). An assimilated form of wilna, 
Scotch for will no — that is, will not. 
■winnable(win'a-bl),a. [<win^ + -able.'\ Capa- 
ble of being won. 
All the rest are winnable. 
Pall Mall GazetU, Feb. 18, 1888. (Encye. Did.) 
winnet, «• and a. I. n. Joy; delight; pleasure. 
Hit is min hijte [joy], hit is mi wiine. 
That ich me draje to mine cunde [kind]. 
Owl and Nightingale, 1. 272. 
When I was borne Noye named he me, 
And saide thees wordes with mekill Wynne. 
York Plays, p. 46. 
II. a. Enjoyable; delightful. 
Ho wayned me vpon this wyse to your Wynne halle. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), L 2456. 
■Winnel, Winnel-Straw (win'el, -stra), n. Same 
as jackstraw, 5. [Prov. Eng.] 
■winner (win'fer), n. [< ME. wynner; < win>- 
-f- -eri.] One who or that which wins; a suc- 
cessful contestant or competitor. 
The event 
Is yet to name the winner. 
Sliak., Cymbeline, iiL 5. 16. 
■winning (win'ing), n. [< ME. wynnynge, wyn- 
ynge; verbal n. of win^, r.] 1. The act of one 
who wins, in any sense. 
At the Winning of Tonque [Towqnes], the King made 
eight and twenty Knights, and from thence marched with 
his Army to Caen. Baker, Chronicles, p. 172. 
If I am not worth the wooing, I surely am not worth the 
winning! Longfellow, Miles Standish, iiL 
2. That which is won; that which is gained 
by effort, conquest, or successful competition; 
earnings; profit; gain : generally in the plural. 
The kynge Arthur made be leide on an hepe all the wyn- 
ynge and the richesse that ther was geten. 
Merlin (t.. E. T. 8.), U. 167. 
A. . . gamester, that stakes all his WTt'nmnj* upon every 
cast Addison, Freeholder, No. 40. 
3. In coal-mining, a shaft or pit which is being 
sunk to win or open a bed of coal ; an opening 
of any kind by which coal has been won ; a bed 
of coal ready for mining (see win^, v. t., 9); 
sometimes, also, a part of a coal-mine, as dis- 
tinguished from another portion from which it 
is separated by a barrier. 
The South Hetton and Great Hetton pits were also very 
costly difficult winnings, on account of the quicksand and 
irruptions of water. 
Jemms, The Coal Question (2d ed-X p. a& 
■winning (win'ing), j;). a. Successful in eon- 
tending, competing, attaining, influencing, or 
gaining over; hence, especially, taking ; attrac- 
tive; charming. 
I do find 
A winning language in your tongue and looks. 
Beau, arid Fl., Custom of the Country, ii. 2. 
Her smile, her speech, with winning sway. 
Wiled the old harper's mood away. 
Scott, L. of the L., ii. la 
■winning-headway (■svin'ing-hed''wa), «. In 
coal-mining, a cross-heading, or one driven at 
right angles to the main gangwavs. [North. 
Eng.] 
winningly (■win'ing-li), adv. In a ■winning man- 
ner. 
Winni7igly meek or venerably calm. 
Wordsworth, Excursion, ii. 
■winningness (win'ing-nes), n. The property or 
character of being winning. 
Those who insist on charm, on winningness in style, 
on subtle harmonies and exquisite suggestion, are disap- 
pointed in Burke. J. Morley, Burke, p. 209. 
■winning-post ( win ' in g-p6st ),n. A post or goal 
in a race-course, the order of passing which de- 
termines the issue of the race, 
winninish (win'in-ish), n. [Amer. Ind.] The 
sehoodic trout (which see, under tront^). 
Found in Eastern waters under the name of "winninish," 
"grayling," "sehoodic trout." 
Tribune Book of Sports, p. 160. 
■winnock, n. See windock. 
■winnow (win'6), v. [< ME. winetcen, tcynetcen, 
winwen, tcindetcen, windicen, wyndice,<A8. tcind- 
wian, wyndwian, winnow, fan, ventilate (tr. L. 
ventilare), with formative -w, < wind, -wind, air: 
see wind"^, n., and cf. wind^, v. Cf. Icel. vinfa, 
winnow, with formative -z (s), < rindr, wind 
(see ici/irel), and L. ventilare, ventilate, < ventits, 
vrind (see ventilate).] I. tratis. 1. To fan; set 
in motion by means of -svind ; specifically, to ex- 
pose (grain) to a current of air in order to sepa- 
rate and drive off chaff, refuse particles, ete. 
Ane wuramon . . . thet windwede hweate. 
Ancren Riwle, p. 270i 
Let wyndwe the Askes in the Wynd. 
MandeviUe, Travels, p. 107. 
Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshing- 
floor. Rutb iii- S- 
